Happy Father's Day Naruto
by thesaiyanjedi
Summary: It's Father's Day and Naruto plans to sped the day with his family. But he is surprised when he finds his son reading the story about the day he met his grandfather, Minato. Naruto sees this as a fitting moment to bond with his son and let him know just how proud he is of him. NaruSaku. Naruto/Shinachiku bonding story. Prequel to "Shinachiku's First Adventure."


Hey everybody, thesaiyanjedi here with yet another one shot.

This is another one I quickly put out. This one is a sort of sequel to the last story I wrote for Mother Day's...although technically it takes place before the time that story was set...which actually means that this one is a prequel...yeah... Anyway, I was very pleased with all the positive feedback I received for "Happy Mother's Day Sakura" so I felt it was only right to follow it up with a Father's Day story for Naruto. It do feel there is some similarity in structure here, but I rally don't know if it will his the same emotional cord of not. Still, I do feel there is some warmth and emotion in here and I hope you guys will enjoy.

With that said, lets get to ready! Oh, and Happy Father's Day!

* * *

 _WHAK!_

Another one chopped and ready for burning. A tall man with short blonde hair and a three fox-like whisker marks on each of his cheeks picked up the two newly cut chunks of wood and placed them inside a wheel barrel with the rest. He then picked up yet another large piece of wood and stood it up on top of a stump. Raising an ax in the air, the man brought the ax down.

 _WHAK!_

Another piece of wood splintered; he set them in the wheel barrel. Before grabbing another piece however, he stopped to count what he already had.

'Hmm...Five...Ten...Twenty...Forty pieces of wood for the fireplace. This will be good to burn tonight, even if it is summer.'

Placing the ax on top of the newly cut firewood, the blonde-haired man pushed the wheel barrel through the fence that led to his family's property. Inside of the fence was a big, lavish yard with freshly cut grass, a well-manicured garden and four trees. with a brick pathway that led both to the exuberant three-floor house. Before that thought, the brick pathway branched off into a circular brick patio space. The blonde man pushed the wheel barrel onto this patio and after setting it down he brushed off his hands.

"That should do it," the man said to himself. "Just one more thing."

He picked up the ax and after wiping his shoes, he carried it inside the house. Passing through the hallways he headed straight for the staircase heading down to the basement level. After completing his descent, the man went into the first room on his right-hand side. This was a workshop space where he kept his spare tools and knick knacks that he needed for home improvement and for essential living both for himself and his family. Finding the correct space on the wall, the man hung the ax back in its proper display place until the next time it was needed.

Heading back up the stairs, he immediately started walking towards the back door. Opening it, he was pleased with what he was seeing...

In the back yard were no less than three identical version of the same person. But these weren't twins mind you. No, these were clones. Shadow clones. Duplicates created by the genuine article himself to perform whatever tasks their master needed of them, be it in the midst of battle or for minor, insularly tasks like right now.

At the moment, one of the clones was busy cleaning out the pool and the hot tub, while another scraping all the gunk out of the barbecue pit. The final clone was at the end of the branching pathway rummaging through the garden area.

The blonde man stepped off his deck to further inspect the progress of his counterparts. The pool looked nice and clean and the hot tub was totally devoid of calcium residue that could encrust the sides. The barbecue pit was finishing being cleaned out of all the charcoal and other black gunk that had falling through the grates. The man stopped at the foot of the garden as his clone was on his hands and knees inspecting the vegetables that were growing.

"How are the tomatoes growing?" the blonde asked.

"Pretty good," said the clone. "They should be nice and lump and ready for dinner tonight."

"Sakura will like that," the blonde smiled.

After taking the fresh tomatoes inside the house to store in the pantry, the man came back outside and addressed the clones. "Okay guys, I think that should be all for today. The boss will be happy with how the house looks."

"And more importantly, so will the wife," one of the clones snickered.

"Yeah, her too. Now come on, lets go tell him the news already."

In that instant, all four blonde's, including their leader, all disappeared in a puff of smoke...

* * *

Inside his home office on the second floor of the house, the Seventh Hokage, Naruto Uzumaki, was sitting at his desk Going over some last minute forms that needed his approval and double checking all the bills were in order. Naruto and his wife both hated having to bring their work home with them, but sadly, once in a great while it was a necessary evil.

He stopped momentarily when he felt a tinge in his brain. 'Hmm...So it looks like the clones finished the chores extra early this time. Good for them!'

Sakura has said many times that Naruto's Shadow Clone Jutsu was a godsend for life around the house. When you have a family of four living in a house that huge and when two of the occupants are merely children, and both parents are working very important, full time jobs no less, then keeping the place in order requires a number of extra hands. Call it an abuse of the secret technique of the Second Hokage if you must, but it still saved Naruto hours of work that it would usually take by himself, time he did not have given his job...Plus, it saved him money needed to hired a manicurist and, more importantly, it saved him plenty of time to be with his family.

And spending time with his family was precisely what he planned to do. This was Sunday, not just any Sunday either. It was Father's Day! That meant that this was supposed to be his day to take it easy and relax for change. A chance to completely enjoy spending time with his family rather than working hard to support them.

A knock on the door broke Naruto free of his thoughts. "Come in."

The door opened to reveal a surprise visitor, or rather two. He was greeted by a smiling young woman roughly the same age as him with pink hair, green eyes, and a diamond-shaped seal emblazoned on her lovely broad forehead. In her arms was a newborn child, a baby girl with hair as pink as her mother's and eyes as blue as her father's.

"Hey honey," Naruto smiled.

"Hey you," Sakura smiled back. She lightly shook the baby in her arms. "Hanami sweetie, say hi to daddy."

The baby was only a couple months old, but she was able to smile and giggle an adorable baby laugh that could melt the heart of even the more grumpy of sourpusses. It clearly had its desired effect as Naruto was quick to move away from his desk and pick the baby up in his arms. "Hey there sweetie pie, how's daddy little princess?" Another cute baby laugh was the father's response.

Sakura smiled as she asked her husband a question. "What are you doing in here?"

"Just finishing up some last minute proposals that had to get done is all. Trust me, this is as much as I ever plan on doing today."

"I would hope so, it is Father's Day."

Carrying their daughter in his arms, Naruto kissed his wife on the lips as Hanami kept giggling. "By the way, the clones finished up with the chores already."

"Thank goodness, that saves all of us a good three hours of work at least."

"Yeah...By the way, where's Shina?"

"He's in the library reading your book."

"What, by himself?"

"Yeah? Why?"

"Well, I'm just wondering why he's doing that when he could be using his time to get some training in?"

"Maybe because he's only _five?_ "

Naruto sweat dropped and scratched the back of his head. "Hehehe...right..."

* * *

Shinachiku Uzumaki was sitting at the table in the center of the family library. He surrounded by shelf upon shelf of books and scrolls, everything ranging from basic ninja training to chakra control, from secret ninjutsu techniques to world history. The boy's mother would spend a lot of her free time in here reading some of the medical journals and history books, or engaging in her favorite past time by answering quiz books. He usually preferred to look up ninja books and some manga here and there.

Today however, he was reading something quite different. His father's very own book, _The Tale of Naruto_ , had come out a couple of months ago to huge commercial and critical success. Reading it, Shinachiku got to learn all about his dad's adventures growing up and how he became the awesome shinobi and Hokage that he is today. He got to read about his mom too, she was quite a force of nature back then, much less now! In fact, virtually all of his parent's were in the book: from his Aunt Ino to his Aunt Hinata, from Shikamaru to Rock Lee, even Lady Tsunade and Shizune were in there.

There was also quite an extensive amount of stories in the book about his Uncle Sasuke...but too bad not all of them were very flattering. For everything the book said about him that was truly awesome, something else would come up that made him seem like a complete jerk. Yeah, sure, he saw his entire clan murdered before his eyes, so the boy understood it, but to severe his bonds with his friends so completely just for revenge, it went against everything that his father had taught him...Plus, there was some stuff in there that apparently his mom used to have a massive crush of his Uncle Sasuke and his Aunt Hinata had just as big a crush on his dad. Gross!

This was his first time reading his dad's book and he was pretty deep into it so far. Right now he was on the chapter talking about Pain's invasion of the village. Shinachiku's eyes were glued to the pages as he took it all in. The chaos that broke out across the village, the sheer number of people who lost their lives (even Kakashi and Shizune...people he _knew_ ), It was catastrophic!

And then, it happened. The Shinra Tenshi. The powerful technique that Pain's Deva Path had used to destroy the entire village. So many lives were lost that day. The village had seen nothing like it since the Nine Tail's rampage sixteen years earlier. It was the end, evil had one...

...And then the boy's father showed up! Yes, with a platoon of toads at his side, Naruto did battle with the Akatsuki leader, fighting to avenge the very village that once looked upon him as a monster...And then something else happened...

'A-Aunt Hinata...? What are you—? What?! Y-You said you love my dad?! Whoa! Wait...? No! No don't try and—! **NO!** '

Shinachiku was horrified at what he was reading! His Aunt Hinata was brutally and violently stabbed by Pain, after confession of love no less! Something inside his father snapped in that moment. The Nine Tails, or Kurama as his dad always called him, he finally got in. Pain had asked him how he would confront this world's hatred in order to build peace and for once, Naruto had no answer. This was the opening Kurama needed. He finally convinced his father to let go, to embrace his hatred. To allow the tailed beast's chakra to consume him so completely that it transformed him into his Six-Tailed form, and then into his Eight-Tailed form. The First Hokage's necklace was shattered, and it was too much even for Yamato-sensei to suppress.

The seal was about to be ripped off...The transformation was almost complete...Everything his father had always feared he would become was about to come to pass...

...And then someone grabbed the boy's arm. Shinachiku was so deep into the story that he quite literally jumped out of his chair. "AAAGGHH!"

Naruto laughed out loud at his young son's fear. "HAHAHAHA! Scared ya, didn't I kiddo?!"

"DAD! That's not funny!"

"Yeah, yeah it is!" The Orange Hokage kept laughing his ass off until he saw the pouting face of his only son which was enough to melt his heart and calm down. "Gomen, gomen Shina! I was just kidding!"

"That was really mean dad."

"I said I was sorry." Naruto took up a chair and sat down next to his son. "So what are you reading so intently anyway?"

"I was reading about the day you saved the village from Pain."

An awkward weight came over the great ninja in that moment. That day brought a lot of deep memories for Naruto, both good and bad. Frankly, he was a little bit nervous about whether Shinachiku was mature enough to be reading about something so intense at his age.

"Dad?"

The blonde father was snapped out of his trance. "W-What?"

"Dad? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm okay champ. Umm...listen, where did you leave off before I came in anyway?"

"I was reading this really scary scene where Pain hurt Aunt Hinata and then Kurama drove you crazy and you turned into a monster. you were just about to rip the seal off when you scared me."

Naruto face faulted. 'Oh jeez! No wonder the kid was so spooked! I picked **exactly** the worst possible time to scare him! I'm such an idiot!'

"Dad?"

"Yes Shina?"

"How come you're still you right now if you ripped the seal off?"

"Oh, well you see...I never got to rip the seal off. Thank goodness someone very special was there to stop me."

"Huh? Who?"

"Why don't you keep reading and find out."

Shinachiku was confused at first, but with a mild sense of nervousness he took his father's advise and went back to reading the book...

* * *

 _'_ _Chakra, liquid hot chakra oozed out of Naruto's stomach as the seal remained open. The flooded floor of the boy's mindscape was becoming drenched with the tailed beast's power. Naruto was on his knees not knowing what more he could do, while on the outside the gigantic, hairless form of an Eight-Tailed Fox had burst out of its rocky prison hovering in the sky._

 _Inside Naruto's mind, the Nine-Tail's deep, demonic voice beckoned the young jinchūriki over to him. "Come here...Pull this seal off."_

 _Naruto was doing it. He knew not what else he could do. He could feel a power shifting in the palm of his hand as a number 9 appeared. "Damn it! Its to late! Why is this happening!?"_

 _The transformation would soon be complete. That was for certain. Naruto had lost too much, been pushed too far. There was no escaping it any longer. He wanted it, craved it._ Needed _the power! Maybe Sasuke was right? Maybe sacrificing your life was worth it if it meant gaining the power you needed for your revenge?_

 _And so, in that moment, his hand reached out to tear off the seal..._

 _...Only he never got the chance. Something had grabbed his arm. Or rather, someone..._

 _The boy was shocked to see a grown man there with him inside his mind, before the gate that held the Fox at bay. The man was facing away from him, but Naruto could see that he had short, spiky blonde hair much like his own, and he was wearing a short-sleeved, long white kaori with a kanji on the back that spelled out his identity. An identity that Naruto could not believe he was seeing there with him._

 _The kanji read: "Fourth Hokage."_

 _But Naruto barely had time to register this before he was quickly whisked away by the mysterious person. The Fox growled in anger. "You!"_

 _Naruto himself could not resist. He_ had _to know. He had to figure be sure that this wasn't some crazy dream. "The Fourth Hokage?"_

 _The man explained it plainly. "The seal is set so that if 8 tails are released, I'll appear within your consciousness. I didn't want that to happen...I never wanted to see you again...Nine-Tails. But..."_

 _The Fourth then turned his head to look at the boy, "...I looked forward to seeing how my son had grown...So I guess you could call it even."_

* * *

"Dad?" Shinachiku said as he stopped reading in shock. "You mean that Grandpa was the one who saved you from the Nine Tails?"

Naruto smiled. "Yep! That was the first time I met your grandfather. I had no idea he was my dad at all until that moment."

"No one else ever told you?"

"Nope."

"Why not?"

Naruto pointed back to the book. "Just keep reading."

* * *

 _"GRRRR! YONDAIME! Face me! I'll tear you to shreds!"_

 _The Fourth dismissed the Fox's impassioned threat. "Now why would I go face someone who's going to tear me to shreds?" He then turned his attention back to the person who he really wanted to speak to. "Anyway...Naruto."_

 _The boy was awestruck. "Naruto...? You know my name? How do...?"_

 _"Heh. Well, I mean, I gave you your name. You're my kid after all."_

 _"Kid? Wait, you mean...?"_

 _The Nine-Tail's roared behind them, but the Fourth paid it no notice. He merely smiled and confirmed the truth. "Yep! Like I just said, You're my son."_

 _The weight of the truth came down upon Naruto. Could it really be true? Was this really his father? This great hero? One of the greatest ninja that Konoha had ever seen? Yes! Yes! He was! Naruto could feel it. He felt warm, safe, complete. Tears welling up in his eyes and a elated smile on his face, Naruto knew in his heart that this man was his father._

 _"GRRRR! Yondaime!"_

 _The Fourth pointed behind him in annoyance. "This guy never shuts up. Let's go somewhere else."_

 _He snapped his fingers, and just like that the entire landscape changed. Gone was the dark, dank dungeon that caged the Nine-tails and in it's place was a blank, white void. The only things there to occupy that space was the two of them._

 _Naruto chuckled to himself as he wiped his arm to dry his tears. As his did so, the Fourth began to speak: "I guess Saidaime never told you. Hiruzen-sama wanted as little information about the Kyuubi as possible out in the public. If anyone knew you were my son, you'd have been in constant danger...Forgive me Naruto."_

 _"Dad..."_

 _Something snapped in the boy. He greeted his long lost father not with a hug, nor a smile, not even a handshake. No, his greeting came in the form of a sudden and brutally hard punch in the stunned shinobi's stomach!_

 _The Fourth regained his bearings as he was forced to watch his son close his eyes as tears streamed uncontrollably down his face. The boy yelled out his frustrations, his anger, everything._

 _"Why did you seal the damn Kyuubi in your own son!? Do you know how tough its been living like that?! I'm happy, I'm pissed as hell, I don't know what to feel!"_

 _Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage had to take in his son's heartbreak as the boy couldn't stop crying. Closing his eyes, he continued to speak. "Naruto...how old are you?"_

 _Naruto wiped away his tears and his running nose once again. "Sixteen."_

 _"Sixteen, wow...I've...I've caused you a lot of pain, Naruto. I'm sorry...I've caused you nothing but grief...Some father I am...All I can do is apologize."_

 _Naruto's response was to do the one thing an emotional boy his age could do: he acted tough. "Whatever...I'm the Fourth Hokage's son. I can take it."_

 _The Fourth smiled in knowing sympathy. "I sealed half of the demon fox's chakra in you because I knew you'd learn to use it someday...Because you were my son."_

 _The boy was stunned. 'He...he knew I would...?' But his thoughts were interrupted by what the Fourth said next._

 _"I had a very good reason for it...Sixteen years ago, when it first attacked the village, I learned something."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Someone was hiding in the shadows and controlling the Kyuubi's every move. He too was a shinobi of unfathomable power. No one could ever face him without a very unique set of abilities. I'm sure he'll attack again."_

 _His father's words caused Naruto to frown in sadness. "Konoha has been obliterated."_

 _"Right...I saw it from in here..."_

 _"You saw that!?"_

 _"I know what happened to Jiraiya-sensei too."_

 _Naruto was becoming alarmed and furious. "Was Pain the one who sent the Kyuubi to attack when I was a baby!?"_

 _"No, it wasn't him."_

 _"Then who!?"_

 _"A man from Akatsuki wearing a mask."_

 _Memories snapped together for Naruto instantly. He remembered seeing that man before. His mask was shaped like an orange spiral with one hole in it through which a single eye could be seen._

 _"On that night..." The Fourth continued, "...he saw through every move I tried to make...He's no ordinary man...I'm almost positive he's giving Pain orders as well."_

 _"No way!" Naruto exclaimed in protest. "Pain hates everything Konoha stands for! We destroyed his village back when he was a kid!"_

 _"I see...Then that's all the more reason he'd be using him."_

 _"Manipulated? But this guy behind the curtain!? Why is he so bent on destroying Konoha!?"_

 _The boy's father said nothing for a moment, but then he spoke his mind:_

 _"As long as the current shinobi system remains in place, we may very well never have peace. He asked you for your solution earlier...Figuring out the answer will be a long, hard road. War breeds from our desire to protect those dear to us. As long as there is love, there will be hate. Hate used and directed by shinobi. While this system remains unchallenged, that monstrous hatred will give rise to a new Pain. Pain may by Jiraiya-sensei's killer, but if you think long and hard, you'll realize that he was created by the chaos and strife of our world. To be a ninja is to be at constant war against hate. It holds true for all of us. Jiraiya-sensei made it his mission to end the hate once and for all. A mission he then left to you."_

 _Naruto took his father's words in, processed them. And yet his heart was not wanting to listen. "I can't let Pain go...I can't let him get away with this!"_

 _"Right..."_

 _"Yondaime...tell me. What am I supposed to do?"_

 _The Fourth could easily tell the desperation in his son's voice. He pitied it. But this was one case in which the father could not help his son. "You'll have to find the answer yourself. I don't know either."_

 _"How the hell am I supposed to figure out something that Pervy Sage and the freakin' Fourth Hokage couldn't!? Stop lumping all this crap on me! If you hadn't noticed, I'm pretty stupid! I'm not even that good of a ninja! And plus—"_

 _Naruto never got the chance to finish his rant. All his anger and frustrations were cut short by a hand touching his head._

 _"You'll figure it out someday." The Fourth smiled. "I know you can do it."_

 _The boy stopped. All of his anger vanished. Those few simple words were all it took. His father believed in him. There were no masks, no lies, no tongue planted in cheek. Nothing. There was only faith, and hope, and love. Naruto saw all of these things looking into his father's eyes._

 _As the Fourth let go of his head, Naruto spoke again. "Really...? You really think I can..."_

 _"Hey, a parent always believes their kid can do anything, no matter what."_

 _The Fourth's smile was sincere and loving, a father's smile. But alas, as soon as it had appeared it vanished again as the Fourth knew he would need to end this soon...whether he wished to or not. "Now, it's almost time for me to go...my chakra's running out..."_

 _He placed his hand on his son's bare chest, which was still oozing out the Kyuubi's chakra from its fractured seal. "I'll redo the seal...but this will be the last time."_

 _Naruto felt a tug, a strong surge of chakra going back into himself as the familiar spiral seal was restored to its original form._

 _"Konoha will grow again...It's in your hands now..."_

 _The Fourth was fading away, his chakra was leaving him...The boy's father was disappearing..._

 _...His father was gone...He had used the last of his chakra to restore the seal. He had given his son a second chance. He had put all of his faith in him. Not because he was forced to, not because he was testing him...Because he believed in him. His father believed in him. He saw the man that this boy was always meant to be and he gladly gave up his life a second time to allow him to fulfill his destiny._

 _Naruto knew this, and be damned if he was going to waste it._

 _'Thank you...Dad...'_

* * *

"Wow..."

Naruto smiled at his son's overwhelmed reaction. "Quite a story huh?"

Shinachiku set the book down and looked back to his father. "I...I don't... Dad, what was all of that stuff about a masked man? What does any of this—?"

The father merely raised his hand up to stop the boy's train of thought. He then moved his had towards the book and shut it. "That's all a story for another time I'm afraid. Now come on, my clones got all of the chores done and so your old man is going to grill us up some barbeque for an early dinner tonight. After that, how about the four of us spend the reset of the day together, maybe get in the pool later?"

The little boy, so caught up in the amazing story he had just read a second ago, came too and got an childish smile of excitement on his face. "Okay dad! Can we have ramen too?"

The blonde frowned. "Sorry kiddo, but your mother made me promise that there'd be no ramen on the menu tonight."

"But dad, I thought it was your favorite food? And today is—?"

"I know, I know, but it still your mom."

The boy stopped complaining, knowing even at his age exactly what his father was getting at.

Naruto smiled again. "Come on champ, let go see the others?"

"Okay...Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Umm...I read something in you book about Aunt Hinata telling you she loved you...Were you two...?"

Naruto blushed bright red. "Aaahh...That's, umm...that kind of a long story son."

* * *

The rest of Naruto's Father's Day went by pretty simply, but some quality time with his family was exactly what he wanted. He barbecued up some delicious ribs for the family to eat (except for little Hanami who, unfortunately, had to settle for baby food), and after a little while the two males splashed around in the pool while Sakura happily looked after the baby. After that they talked for a while in the living room, Naruto and Sakura cuddled together on the couch with Hanami between them as they kissed (Shinachiku stuck his tongue out in disgust).

Before they knew it, it was time for bed. While Sakura was tucking Hanami into her crib, Naruto knocked on Shinachiku's door before opening it. "Everything alright in here?"

"Great dad!" The boy was already in his pajamas and sitting in bed, reading his father book once again.

"You really are into that book aren't ya?"

"Yeah! Your stories are so exciting! And I really want to know what happened after you met grandpa!"

Naruto chuckled lightly ton himself as he sat on the boy's bed. "Well I'm not going to spoil anything for you, but lets just say that a lot happens after that, both good and bad."

Shinachiku frowned, "I wish I could have met him."

"Who?"

"Grandpa Minato."

The father sighed, Me too. But don't be sad, both of your grandparents are still with you." He pointed directly at the boy's chest. "They're alive right here, inside of your heart..." He smiled warmly, "And I'll always be there too."

Shinachiku warmed up and wrapped his father in an affectionate hug, with Naruto was quick to return. "I love you dad."

"I love you too Shina." He let go of the hug and got up off the bed. "Now get to bed, I've got some training exercises planned for you tomorrow and I want to make sure you're plenty rested up."

But as Naruto was walking out the door, his son called out to him once again. "Hey dad?"

"Yes son?"

"You really think I'll ever be able to do it? Become a great ninja I mean?"

"Where's this coming from?"

"Its just...You're awesome dad, a hero, and so was grandpa! You, mom, Uncle Saskue, Aunt Karin, Kakashi-sensei, everybody! ...I'm just some kid. How am I supposed to one day live up to—?"

Shinachiku never got the chance to finish his rant. All his anger and frustrations were cut short by a hand touching his head.

"You'll figure it out someday." The Seventh smiled. "I know you can do it."

The boy stopped. All of his doubt had vanished. Those few simple words were all it took. His father believed in him. "Really...? You really think I can..."

"Hey, a parent always believes their kid can do anything, no matter what."

Naruto let go of his son's head and continued speaking: "My son, some day this village will say of you and I what they said about me and your grandpa. They will say 'My boy, some day you will be just like your dad, the bravest and strongest shinobi in the world.' And then one day then will all look again and say, 'No…He is greater than his father.'"

Shinachiku's eyes glossed over as he took in what his father was telling him. There were no masks, no lies, no tongue planted in cheek. Nothing. There was only faith, and hope, and love. Shinachiku saw all of these thing looking into his father's eyes.

"A-Arigato dad."

Naruto nodded. "Now get to bed kiddo."

As he was about to close to door and turn out the light, Shinachiku spoke up one more time. "Hey dad?"

"Yes?"

"Happy Father's Day."

Warm butterflies went through grown man's heart as he was unable to resist the urge to give his son one last hug before the end of the night. "Thank you son."

As Naruto held the young boy in his embrace, he allowed his mind to drift to the heaven's above: 'And thank you too dad...I love you..."

* * *

So, what do you think? This one was another simple, day-in-the-life kind of story (I don't know why I enjoy writing those, I guess they just come naturally to me) for Naruto on Father's Day. This was another one that I kind of figured out as I wrote it, but I settled on the idea of a father and son bonding story, paralleling chapter 440 from the mange, when Naruto finally got to meet his father during Pain's invasion, and the relationship Naruto has with his own son.

Like for the Mother's Day story, the dialogue for the flashback scene was taken from the mangafreak translation. I did not have the official published translation by Viz Media on hand unfortunately. Still, I think it comes close enough and I may go back in and correct it later, so I do apologize in case there are any mistranslations...Actually, I know there were in this case because I had to change some of the names used in that translation to what I as using in my stories, such as changing Ero-sennin to Pervy Sage.

There was a callback to the second chapter of "Shinachiku's First Adventure" at the end where Naruto gives Shinachiku the speech about how one day he will surpass him, similar to how Naruto has, arguably, surpassed Minato. Like in SFA, this speech is adapted fro "The Iliad," where the Trojan Hector removes his helmet and tells the same thing to his infant son, Astyanax.

I don't have much more to say besides that. I hope you enjoyed this little story, and once again Happy Father's Day!

Until next time, see ya!


End file.
